Mount St. Elias (Gerald Salmina, 2009): Austria/USA

Reviewed by Paula Gomez. Viewed at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival, 2010.

The comradeship built between the characters in Mount St. Elias is astounding and is sure to touch the viewer’s heart. This documentary, which does not look like a typical documentary but more like a narrative film instead, is sure to please the extreme sports fan as well as the intrepid and plain daring population of the world.  It tells the story of three skiers who attempt to be the first to safely climb Mount Saint Elias and ski all the way down from the top of its highest peak.  This film was viewed at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival.

Flashy titles are imposed unto the first shots the audience sees, which are of athletes skiing down snowy mountains to the rhythm of rapid rock music. The rock music ceases and is eventually replaced by enchanting vocal peaces that accompany the introduction of the three main characters. Axel Naglich, Peter Ressmann, and Jon Johnston, are three ambitious and intrepid skiers who scheme a plan to climb Mount Saint Elias and then ski all the way down to the bottom of the mountain. The viewer then sees, through re-enactments, that there have been other fatally unsuccessful attempts to do the same thing in the past. Axel, Peter, and Jon nevertheless, move forward in their quest to be the first to safely accomplish this goal. They encounter serious climatic problems along the way and have to readjust their plans. The idea of failure and success coexisting in this goal of theirs is very prevalent. The skiers learn to trust each other and support one another throughout their challenging mission. It is exiting to see them enduring against adversity and witnessing the comradeship that is built as a result of this journey.

Like any documentary it has its conventional talking heads, scenery shots, re-enactments and narrations. But unlike a typical documentary all of these features in Mount Saint Elias are very well adapted to the daring and intrepid style of the story. The talking characters do not speak in front of the camera after the fact of the events but as they are going through their journey themselves. The aerial scenery shots are beautifully filmed with crisp colors and pristine focus to allow the mountain to seem more alive. The re-enactments are so well executed that they look truly believable as current events and not as occurrences of the past. Finally, the narration is done by the characters themselves who walk us through what is going on through their minds with what sound to be walkie-talkies.

The viewer can expect to be successfully immersed in this film and feel the warmth created by the comrades involved in this journey, almost as if one was part of the group of skiers climbing and skiing down the mountain. The chilling parts of the movie are somewhat similar to some parts of the movie Alive. The euphoric parts of the movie are unlike any other documentary or narrative film I’ve ever seen before. The movie is a real treat to watch, especially if one is interested in winter sports and the wilderness.